Abstract:

Edmonton Public Schools is one of the largest public school districts in Canada with more than 200 schools, serving approximately 103,000 students, their families, and communities. As part of the Research and Innovation for Student Learning department, the Career Pathways team was formed in 2014 to assist students in exploring their interests, creating goals and transitioning successfully to a life of dignity and fulfilment.

Since its inception in 2014 Career Pathways’ process followed a grounded theory curve [1], [2], [3] starting with an open inquiry regarding how a large primary education system could best respond to the need for students to develop awareness, understanding and readiness to integrate their lives and learning with the world at large. Open data, gathered through consulting multiple stakeholders, was sorted, analyzed, and combined in an axial coding process. Including the voices of community, families, students, and school staff has always been central to this process. Tracking, documentation, surveys and symposia have been used to triangulate evidence and inform the process [4].

This paper will illustrate one aspect of this collaborative research journey by discussing focus group sessions at the 2018 Career Pathways Symposium. One of the purposes of the symposium was to elicit feedback and gain insight from stakeholders to strengthen Career Pathways approaches to:
Increasing students’ self-awareness about their strengths and interests
Making connections between students’ strengths and interests to possible career pathways
Involving families, businesses, and community organizations in creating relevant and meaningful learning opportunities
Building physical spaces where students thrive

A number of themes, reflecting the thoughts and perspectives of the participants, arose during the Research team’s analysis of note taker documents from the focus group discussions. These themes were then workshopped by the Career Pathways team and four guiding principles were generated. The principles form a pedagogical underpinning that will be used to navigate experiential opportunities for students to think about, explore, and plan what their life might look like beyond school, leading to a life of dignity and fulfilment.

The four Career Pathways Guiding Principles are:
- Programming
Innovative learning approaches that are embedded across curricula.
- Community Connections
Building relationships with parents, community and businesses that intentionally connect students to experiences and potential career pathways.
- Authentic Experiences
Engaging students through meaningful and relevant experiences that connect learning to career pathways.
- Future Focused
Adapting to ever-changing environments and realities.

The paper and presentation will discuss the data collection undertaken by consulting of stakeholders and sampling responses during the 2018 Career Pathways Symposium and how the Guiding Principles are being used as a common language and to guide this work going forward.

References:
[1] Glaser BG, Strauss AL, Strutzel E. The discovery of grounded theory; strategies for qualitative research. Nursing research. 1968 Jul 1;17(4):364.
[2] Charmaz K. Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. sage; 2006 Jan 13.
[3] Bryant A, Charmaz K, editors. The Sage handbook of grounded theory. Sage; 2007 Aug 23.
[4] Moghaddam A. Coding issues in grounded theory. Issues in educational research. 2006 Jan 1;16(1):52-66.

Keywords:

Career pathways, elementary, education, curriculum, community, program principles, public schooling, marketplace, experiential, collaboration.